Activate your inner theater critic

Jungle Theater artistic director Bain Boehlke at the 2012 Ivey Awards at the State Theatre in Minneapolis. Photo by Claude Peck

If you have a theater critic yearning to be free, consider signing on as a volunteer evaluator for the Ivey Awards, an annual theater recognition event for the Twin Cities.

The Iveys rely on about 120 volunteers who get free tickets for shows in exchange for writing up their responses to help identify honorees at the annual ceremony in Minneapolis.

Because of turnover among this group, Iveys founder Scott Mayer is looking for new evaluators. All are welcome to sign up, with the only conditions being that you attend a training meeting on either January 8 or 17, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. After that, evaluators agree to attend and write about a minimum of five shows in 2012, before the Sept. 23 2013 awards show.

After each play or musical, Ivey critics log on to a website and fill out a form that includes a 1-through-20 numerical rating as well as written comments.